Man (44) who threatened women with clawhammer after row is spared jail

David Scott (44) maintained he was afraid one of the women he was arguing with had a knife and was going to stab him when he went and got the hammer.

Suspending a five-month sentence, Judge Treasa Kelly warned him he could not take the law into his own hands, and the situation could have “escalated hugely.”

She also told him to take an anger-management course.

Scott, a roofer, of Le Fanu Road, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to affray and possession of a weapon.

Dublin District Court heard the incident happened at Robert Emmet Close, Dublin 8, on May 24, 2020.

Scott got into a row with three women and followed them along the road with a clawhammer in his hand until he caught up with them.

He had taken the hammer from a house and threatened all three women “briefly”.

Gardaí caught him as he ran back into the house with the hammer and arrested him.

None of the three women made a complaint against the accused, and he was charged with affray, under the Public Order Act, and having the hammer as a weapon.

Scott had 12 previous convictions.

The women were also involved, in that he committed an affray with them, defence solicitor Luke Staines said.

Scott “very much got in over his head”, he added.

“Everybody was involved to some extent” and Scott would say how he was treated “wasn’t ideal”, but after that he fully accepted he should not have acted the way he did.

Scott alleged one of the women had a knife, he was concerned he was going to be stabbed and had a row with her on the street.

“It looks like you were responding to whatever threats were being made to you by other people, but you can’t do that – you can’t take the law into your own hands,” Judge Kelly said.